There’s no doubt the cinematic and cultural significance with Shaft, the movie itself is a bit slow but Richard Roundtree in the lead was fantastic and made the film more than worth checking out.
The Contractor is an okay suspense-thriller and does showcase Chris Pine’s charisma (the reason I liked him as Jack Ryan), however the plot is thin and the writing pretty standard and predictable.
Double Indemnity is what is considered The Godfather of film noir. It’s a fantastic film through and through thanks to a tight and suspense-filled script from Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler and exceptional performances by MacMurray, Stanwyck and Robinson.
The Batman is a good film. Not great. I did like that Matt Reeves had a different and unique take on the character who has seen the big screen a handful of times dating back to 1989 and while there is room for improvement.
Wild Things is the perfect sleazy, trashy yet also entertaining erotic-suspense-crime-thriller that has a great plot with twists and turn underneath the sultry sex scenes.
Beverly Hills Cop II might a shell of the original but still holds some fun entertainment value with Eddie Murphy taking more control over not only the character but behind-the-scenes as well.
Candyman might not be some horror classic in my book, but it was incredible enjoyable with a few good twists with taking it down an unexpected path, at least compared to others in the supernatural-horror subgenre; but what was especially noteworthy were the performances from Madsen and Todd.
Death Wish II isn’t a great sequel by any means and like the first, hard to really “enjoy” the film or find it terribly entertaining given the assaults early on, though seeing the scumbags getting their justice had satisfying elements at least.
Scream 2022 is a decent entry into the now vaunted franchise. The kills are gorier than ever and the new cast actually mostly work and it’s nice to see the three legacy cast members back one more time even if their roles are on the limited side.
Neither Schizoid or X-Ray are very good movies yet they’re at least watchable and even a bit of trashy fun at times, and probably better suited for group viewing for an “MST3K” style setting.
While movies like The Sword and the Sorcerer aren’t really my thing (that includes Excalibur), but it was at least an enjoyable little flick with respectable make-up and production designs.
While An American Werewolf in London wasn’t quite the cult classic some feel it is, but it is quite entertaining experience with a good performance from David Naughton alongside some respectable make-up and special effects.
The Godfather Trilogy is another (almost) great set from Paramount with a plethora of bonus features and excellent video and audio transfers. My only qualm is, like the DVD set, they’ve gone back to the cardboard digi-pak which means you’re SOL if any of them get damaged.
Shooter is a film that works with Mark Wahlberg’s strengths as an action hero and combined with the fine direction by Antoine Fuqua makes this worth checking out if you hadn’t already in the 15 years since the release.
The Matrix Resurrections is far from terrible and it’s not the worst amongst the sequels, but it can’t recapture the magic of the original, however I did like the movie whenever Reeves and Moss were onscreen together.